State count shows 27 percent turnout for primary election

The Washington Secretary of State office reported last week that the statewide election turnout for the Aug. 1 primary reached approximately 27 percent. Secretary of State Kim Wyman said the numbers were encouraging, but still not what she would like to see.

“Even though this year's turnout is the highest since 2011 for odd-year primaries, it is by no means encouraging that only just over a quarter of our state's registered voters chose to make their voices heard,” said Wyman. “Even though it is more convenient for citizens to register and cast their votes than ever before, it really comes down to how interested people are in a particular issue or candidate for them to exercise their civic duty.”

The 2015 odd-year primary brought out approximately 24 percent of registered voters, and 2013's saw nearly 26 percent turn out.

Wyman said it is typical for odd-year elections to have low turnout and that presidental elections draw the highest turnout. She stressed that it is important to vote in odd-year elections because those ballots typically contain local measures “that will often most directly affect voters' lives.”

Whitman County's primary election logged a 20.98 percent turnout with 3,688 ballots cast from 17,367 registered voters.

The final certified count saw the St. John Cemetery District levy pass with 79 percent approval and two of three Farmington town levies pass, both at 62.5 percent. The other Farmington levy would have funded street maintenance, repair and improvements, while the two that passed will fund the town's current expense fund and the purchase of fire equipment and general equipment.

The Garfield town levy to finance street maintenance, repair and improvements also failed at 58 percent.

Moving to the general election are Jarrod Pfaff and Ray McCown for Garfield mayor; Tom Tevlin and Kevin Pickron for Garfield Town Council seat five; Garren Shannon and Dan Records for Pullman City Council ward two; Al Sorensen and Eric Fejeran for Pullman City Council ward one, and Karl M. Johanson and Nathan J. Roberts for the Pullman School District director position.